No bomb found aboard jet after landing at Kennedy Airport
An American Airlines jet landed safely Sunday, Nov. 30, 2014, at Kennedy Airport after authorities received word there was a bomb aboard. The plane was later cleared by officials. Credit: Theodore Parisienne
FBI agents and Port Authority officials cleared an American Airlines flight that landed Sunday at Kennedy Airport after an unfounded report of a bomb aboard the jet.
The FDNY responded to the reported bomb threat as the plane from Barcelona landed about noon at Kennedy.
American Airlines Flight 67 landed safely on Runway 22L.
About 200 passengers left the plane using a staircase and were loaded on buses that were held on the tarmac while the passengers were questioned. Canine units searched the plane and all passenger bags.
The passengers were taken to the terminal and released after a two-hour search of the plane and luggage found no explosives or suspicious devices.
NYPD officials deferred calls to the Port Authority, which was handling the investigation with the FBI and the Transportation Safety Administration.
One passenger, Beth Henderson, was heading home to Brooklyn after visiting friends and relatives in Edinburgh, Scotland and Barcelona.
The FDNY and Federal Aviation Administration are investigating a bomb threat on an American Airlines flight that landed Sunday afternoon at JFK International Airport, officials say. Credit: Jacob Rosenberg, @jrosenberg / Twitter
"No one was sure [of a problem] until we looked online ourselves while waiting on the tarmac," Henderson said. "There was a report that someone had put something in the belly of the plane."
Henderson said a police officer boarded the plane and told passengers of the threat, which may have originated in Dallas.
"I'm honestly just exhausted by the eight-hour flight and in shock that it's all happening. I wish we could leave, but understand the precautions," Henderson said. "I really just want to go home and see my cat."
Chris Policano, 55, of Washington, D.C., said the interruption was "all very orderly."
"There was no panic. People were very calm," Policano said. Passengers snapped photos of the scene and shared the news on social media, he said.
The bomb threat came on one of the busiest travel days of the year.
Airport officials said no other flights were delayed. TSA officials said airport operations were normal.
With Scott Eidler
John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.
Updated now Newsday travel writer Scott Vogel took the ferry over to Block Island for a weekend of fun.
Updated now Newsday travel writer Scott Vogel took the ferry over to Block Island for a weekend of fun.
